CYPHER MASTERPOST /////// BYCHANCE
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🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒what is Bychance?
(If you're already familiar with this & just want to see my posts, skip to the next section.)
Bychance is the ship between Will Byers + Chance the Jock from Stranger Things, the famous TV Show first released in 2016 and with its 5th and final season coming out this year, 2025.
The ship was initially born from a vague leak ("Will Byers is reported to have a new love interest in season 5") and then people started joking about it as a crackship.
However, me being an obsessed Stranger Things fan (lol), it wasn't long until I started noticing some very weird patterns in the show & other official canon materials.
Mind you, I ship Byler (Will Byers + Mike Wheeler). I also think Byler is endgame.
So, I thought I was going crazy. But still... just like I once couldn't unsee the mountains of Byler evidence, I now couldn't unsee the insane, disguised, but ultimately undeniable & widespread Bychance foreshadowing.
I slowly started to make sense of a few scattered storytelling patterns & made some initial posts treating Bychance as a serious (passing & non-endgame) possibility for season 5.
As expected, most people either thought it was ridiculous or that I was joking. 😏 Some of them even got offended & hurt in behalf of Will, Mike, or Byler as a ship.
Others found the theory surprisingly believable. Some (such as me) even consider it essential to Will's, Mike's & Byler's arc.
And soon, there would be a new Stranger Things superfan making brilliant detailed additions & continuations to the Bychance Theory™ — @ven0moir. I highly recommend that everyone checks out their jaw-dropping posts too.
Ever since then, me, them & a bunch of other people have been finding, digging, thinking, & building upon each other to clock some major missing puzzle pieces that the Stranger Things / Byler fandom has been wondering about for years.
By now, we are not only suspicious, but certain in our prediction that Bychance is indeed happening— in the form of a temporary situationship with the narrative purpose of a plot device for Will (& Mike)'s character development & ultimately, Byler endgame.
So, without further ado, you're free to check the Bychance posts & reblogs I compiled in the next sections below!
🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒my Bychance posts
💡 Brokeback Mountain, Mexico & Bychance — I detail how Byler's story took inspiration from the most iconic queer movie ever, Brokeback Mountain (2004), & how it inevitably involves a "Mexico betrayal" arc. Themes: Jealousy, Sombrero hat, “Día de los Muertos”, Starcourt, (Spicy!) Mexican Food, Native Culture, Mayan Myth, Thunderbird, Camazotz, Casting Choices, "C in Spanish", Should I Stay Or Should I Go.
💡 Mexican Food is Bychance Foreshadowing — Themes: Burritos, Nachos, Taco Bell, Jealous Mike, Will Byers' s5 Arc, Drug Dealing, Darker Themes & Prediction of S5 Byler Development.
💡 Will's Soft Spot for "Tigers" — The way it's literally impossible that these consistently repeated clues are just a "random coincidence" (as alleged by many).
💡 Bychance -> Byler Transition Foreshadowed In "Rise of Hellfire!" Comic — I read the "Stranger Things x Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire" (2025) official comic issue #2 & found this little gem. As Mike finally agrees / 'makes a pact' with Eddie to join Hellfire, the background poster changes from a Tiger to a full flat green. This symbolizes Mike finally embracing the queer identity & lifestyle ("going to Hell"), while officially starting to date Will. Tiger = Bychance, Green = Byler.
💡 That One Erica/Jason Scene Is Bychance Foreshadowing — The OG serious Bychance post with 250+ notes. My first. Mandatory read.
💡 Chance Is (Partly?) A Creation From Mike's Psyche — According to the ST "Manifestation Theory".
💡 Bychance Foreshadowing in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' ST Comic — My second (or third?) Bychance post. One of the old ones. While reading the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things (2023) official comic, I noticed some weird & otherwise unecessary patterns.
💡 My Bychance Trilogy — Small & fun initial 'masterpost' I made for my first three Bychance posts. It features the iconic Noah Schnapp "¡Hola!" Flirty Sombrero video.
🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒my Bychance written reblogs
FOR THESE, YOU WILL NEED TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST — AS WRITTEN REBLOGS ARE REPLIES TO ORIGINAL POSTS BY OTHER PEOPLE — AND THEREFORE MY CONTRIBUTION SITS AT THE END OF THEM.
🔃(reblog) Tigers (Chance) VS. Falcons (Mike) — Very juicy (& long-ish) reblog I am extremely proud of. Mentions of "Timeline Theory" & how Lucas's S4 basketball arc foreshadows Will's s5 arc (& Bychance). Themes: Partying, Drinking / Drugs, Betrayal, Hasty Loss of Virginity, Hangover / Regret / Disillusionment, Eddie-Mike Parallels, Witch-Hunts, "Playing On Both Teams" / Spying, "Split In Half" Karmic Irony, Hurting, Understanding & Forgiveness (Running Up That Hill).
🔃(reblog) Reawakening Past Trauma Through Pain, Predators (Tigers & Falcons), Prey (Deers & Rabbits), & Chance's Locker — Continuation of the previous reblog. Themes: Chrissy, Death of Innocence, Clues in "Lucas On The Line" ST book, Connection to Romance / Sexuality, First Times, “jock #2 locker” BTS picture, Basketball, "Physical Science" / "Anatomy" parallel, Cars, Sketches vs. Paintings, Pretending / Acting "Tougher", Parallels to S1 Nancy, "Deer"-"Fag" Connection.
🔃(reblog) 'Stranger Things' / 'Twin Peaks' Parallels & Bychance Age-Gap — I heavily recommend this reblog. Still stand by it to this day. Themes: Wardrobe Similarities, Archetypal Parallels: Laura Palmer = Will = 'Mysterious Vanished Final Girl', James Hurley = Mike = 'Tragic Heroic 'Romeo' Knightly Dreamer', Bobby Briggs = Chance = ''Tough Bad Boy' But Deep-Down Sensitive Drug Dealer Jock'. Lonnie Parallels, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Will's 'Undeserving' Belief.
🔃(reblog) Motels & Locker Notes: Diving Into 'Puzzle Tales' ST Game, 'Hawkins Horrors' ST Book, Blood, Ritual Gone Wrong, Secret Persona, Trees, Spiders — This reblog is... a lot. But a lot of good stuff. In short, it discusses how Will's secret encounters & eventual loss of virginity to Chance (something that will probably go wrong) are foreshadowed in the show, the 'Puzzle Tales' ST mobile game & the 'Hawkins' Horrors' ST book.
🔃(reblog) Halloween is Bychance Foreshadowing (vs. AV Club being Mike) — Themes: AV Club, Scary Pumpkins, Boyce, “Trick or Treat!”, Short-Lived 'Spooky' Fun, One Night Stand.
🔃(reblog) S4 Cafeteria, Creel Stained Glass Door, Intertwined Red Roses, Romeo & Juliet, Unintentionally Ruinous Matchmaking by Robin & Steve, Orange & Keys — Very crucial read. I sincerely apologize for the all caps (I was too excited). Sitting right in opposition to s4 school cafeteria Mike (foreshadowing a 'rival'), there's a Chance lookalike. I also expand on what the Creel House means according to 'Manifestation Theory'. #Suffer Brothers
🔃(reblog) The S3 Rain Fight & Castle Byers Destruction Foreshadows a More Serious S5 Byler Argument & Will 'Destroying' His Virginity As Self-Harm — I explore how Will's trauma, loneliness, impulsivity, anger & spite always lead to hasty & unhealthy coping mechanisms / decisions / actions, & how we will probably witness a new, shocking version of that behavior pattern in s5. Also mention of Phonegate.
🔃(reblog) Bychance = "By Chance" = "Simple Dumb Luck" — "It's not fate, it's not destiny", ...as Mike would say.
🔃(reblog) Why The 'Problematic' Bychance Age-Gap Is On Purpose — It aligns with Will's character arc, his past trauma & the Stranger Things themes of cycles & loops (Lonnie was much older than Joyce too).
🔃(reblog) “Chance Did Something Horrible” & “Will Wouldn’t” Arguments — Responding to a bychance-skeptical anon (Ven0moir post). VERY important read. I also extensively talk about the narrative importance of Bychance for the plot & the Tigers vs. Hellfire conflict.
🔃(reblog) Bychance Could Be A Rooting-For-Byler-Inducing Strategy — Maybe the writers are using bychance partly as a tool to make Byler 'look better' in the eyes of the general audience, anti-bylers & even homophobes.
🔃(reblog) The Importance of Bychance to Will, Mike, Byler & Stranger Things — One of my first replies to Ven0moir. #Murray to Joyce: ‘experimenting sExUaLLY’ #while Joyce makes a horrified face
🔃(reblog) S5 Mike & Will Are Both Hitting Rock Bottom — Also related to Bychance & Byler development.
🔃(reblog) Bychance Marketing — How I think Bychance will be treated in pre-s5 promotion.
🔃(reblog) Chance's Actor is Friends w/ Other ST Actors — And how these characters are prominent, relevant & here to stay (for s5).
🔃(reblog) Mike Catching Bychance In The Act & Duffers Being Messy — Me fangirling under Ven0moir's post.
🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒bychance-related fandom drama
💡(fandom drama) My View On Tumblr Fandom Theorizing — Relevant for any fandom theory really, but I specifically felt the need to post this because of some Bylers harassing & talking shit about Bychance theorizers in the #bychance tag.
💡(fandom drama) Angry Rant On The Haterzz (lol) — Skippable tbh.
🔃(reblog) (fandom drama) "Mexican Chance" Controversy — I respond to an angry ST Tumblr user who got offended by my suggestion & theory that Chance is Mexican / of Mexican heritage.
🔃(reblog) (fandom drama) Why Bychance DOES Belong In The Byler Tag — My response to an annoyed Byler who thinks otherwise.
🔃(reblog) (fandom drama) Why Bychance Is Purposefully Unhealthy & NOT A Crackship — Response to a confused Byler fan in the #bychance tag.
🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒want to see more of my posts?
📌 MY MAIN MASTERPOST — Where I compile & organize all my theories.
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Thank you so much for reading.
As always, stay curious! 🧠💡💥❤
— cypherheart ⁺⋆｡ﾟ🗝